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JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Christchurch City Council Executive Director Dawn Baxendale is proposing to cut her senior management team in half.
Five top executives from the Christchurch City Council could lose their jobs if cuts are proposed.
The council’s chief executive, Dawn Baxendale, is considering cutting the number of CEOs in half from six to three. He also proposes eliminating director positions in the mayor’s and chief executive’s office.
If adopted, the cuts will save between $ 600,000 and $ 700,000.
Baxendale said the proposed restructuring was aimed at “accelerating the pace of the city’s recovery” and ensuring that the council better serve the people of Christchurch.
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The measure would create clear accountability, leadership clarity, improve community services and reduce silos and duplication, he said.
“We are also creating a council that will listen to the needs of the community and be able to respond directly to issues as they arise.”
The move comes a year after a report by Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier in which alleged members of the senior executive team kept negative information about the public council and / or elected members.
The methods allegedly included manipulating or removing information from reports, not submitting project reports, telling staff not to record the information, or keeping it in draft form.
The damning report on openness and transparency on the board criticized the leadership and culture in the organization, under former CEO Karleen Edwards.
George heard / things
Former Christchurch City Council Executive Director Karleen Edwards was at the helm of the organization when Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier discussed its openness and transparency.
Edwards left in June 2019 and was replaced by Baxendale in October of that year.
But those behind the hoax have never been named after Boshier refused to reveal any details to Baxendale, who asked for their identities and what information they tampered with.
Baxendale’s proposed changes to general manager roles will keep citizens and the community group, led by Mary Richardson, unchanged.
The other affected CEOs are: Brendan Anstiss, Strategy and Transformation, David Adamson, City Services, and Leonie Rae, Corporate Services.
They were all in those roles when the Boshier report was formulated.
Two other general manager roles covering consent and compliance, and finance and business are vacant.
ALDEN WILLIAMS / THINGS
Christchurch City Council Executive Director Dawn Baxendale has been denied the names of top leaders who, in an Ombudsman investigation, were found to have falsified reports. (Video first published in November 2019)
The changes propose a new management group to combine infrastructure and planning and regulatory services. A third group will be headed by a general manager who will also be the chief financial officer.
A new small directorate with performance functions and strategic policies will be established to manage the functions, including legal services, the CEO’s office, strategic policy, and public information and participation.
The change will not affect the board services because the restructuring only covers the executive team and the group structure.
“Outside the scope of this proposal are front-line personnel and their immediate team leaders, who will continue to report to the organization’s current third-level managers.”
Staff have two weeks to provide feedback on the proposal. Baxendale hopes to make the final decision before Christmas.
